Annual Salary
£21,000 to £27,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Education or Training or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Education or Training or go back to all job sectors
Special educational needs teaching assistants (TAs) support teachers to help children with disabilities and special educational needs.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings; occasionally
There will be
3.8% more Special educational needs (SEN) teaching assistant jobs in 2029.
As an SEN teaching assistant, you would:
You could work at a school, at a special needs school or at a pupil referral unit.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a college course to learn some of the skills you'll need to find a trainee position.
Examples include:
You may be able to get a placement working with children with special educational needs while doing your course.
Many people get qualifications or experience working with children in mainstream schools, then move on to work with children with special educational needs.
You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:
You could get experience by volunteering in a local school or with a community organisation.
Volunteering is an excellent way to get experience of working with children and young people. It can also help when applying for jobs or training courses.
You can apply for special needs teaching assistant jobs if you have experience of working with disabled children or children who have learning difficulties.
You can search for schools in your area then look for job vacancies on their websites.
Each school sets its own entry requirements, though you'll usually need GCSEs grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths.
Contracts are often term-time only and if you're employed through an agency, your pay may be based on a daily rate.
You'll need to:
The ability to communicate with children and young people using British Sign Language or Makaton can be helpful, though your employer may offer you training in this.
It's also helpful to understand what kind of support disabled students and those with particular conditions might need, such as assistive learning and communication technology.
You could join the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN) for advice about working in special educational needs and for professional development opportunities.
You can get more details about a career in special educational needs through:Mencap; NASEN; the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Your school will support you with specific training, like British Sign Language and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) courses. They may also provide training on conditions like dyslexia or autism.
With experience, you could train to become a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA).
With further study you could become a fully qualified special educational needs or mainstream teacher. You can learn about routes into teaching from Get Into Teaching.
You'll need: